Who Shall Be the Keeper of the Names?

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources , Plant Legal News and Issues

Two centuries after Linnaeus developed his binomial classification system that brought order to the naming of species, there is still no universally accepted central authority for registering the names of life forms on earth. One and a half to two million species have been described and named. New discoveries are being made regularly. Internationally accepted rules for describing a species have been established by agencies such as the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) and the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT). Whatever name and description meeting these standards is published first, is the name that is accepted for the organism. Names can be published virtually anywhere. An officially accepted central registry of species names would be a welcome boon for biologists.

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Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 11:47 AM

Native Seeds/SEARCH

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources , Plant Conservation , Plants, Food and Medicine

"Ancient seeds for modern needs," is the motto of Native Seeds/SEARCH, a non-profit organization based in Tucson, Arizona. Since 1983 the group has been collecting seeds of food plants used by the native cultures in the arid region of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico, sometimes referred to as the Chile Pepper Nation (see NPR link). Their mission has led them not only to conserve the rare crops adapted to arid lands, but also to preserve cultural traditions by distributing crops back to Native American communities.

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Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:18 PM

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources , Plants, Food and Medicine , Sources of Botanical News

Since its founding in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has worked to promote food security and end hunger. FAO provides resources and expertise to member countries to aid research and development of agricultural and food systems. The organization serves as a neutral international forum for nations to discuss policy and negotiate agreements. A wealth of books, reports, newsletters and other digital media have been produced to meet the needs of these efforts.

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Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 12:59 PM

World Grass Species Database

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has developed a comprehensive database with descriptions of grass species (10,800 of them) and another for synonomy with over 60, 000 names. The linked databases can be used to look up descriptions, identify grasses or to assist in key construction. Professional taxonomists and amateur enthusiasts alike will find the extensive database to be a useful resource. Users can browse the species index to find description pages, which are also accessible from the Synonomy Database. Additional software can be installed to enable more refined and interactive searches of the data.

Links:

• World Grass Species - Descriptions - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew


• World Grass Species - Synonyms - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 11:09 AM

Plant Ontology Consortium

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources

The Plant Ontology Consortium (POC) is a collaboration of plant scientists, with the goal of developing a common vocabulary to describe structure and development across plant taxa, and to arrange the terminology into hierarchical structures (ontologies) that define the concepts and organize them by their relationship to one another. Initially working on Arabidosis, maize and rice, the group will expand its focus to other plant groups in coming years.

The common vocabulary defined by the POC will enable researchers to conduct uniform querries across databases participating in the project, enabling funtionality between databases.

Link: Plant Ontology the website of the Plant Ontology Consortium

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 11:10 AM

Trees to Know in Oregon

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources

Oregon State University Extension Service has released a new expanded, full-colour edition of its popular book, Trees to Know in Oregon. The 152-page guide describes the state's forest and landscape trees with identifying features and anecdotes that are entertaining as well as informative. According to the book Oregon is home to 50 national champions, which are featured in a section on record-breaking trees.

Link: New Edition of Popular OSU Book Introduces Trees to Know in Oregon from Medford News

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:21 PM

The Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources , Invasive Plants

Invasive species can quickly spread through new areas, causing ecological damage and threatening rare native plants or animals. Dealing with aggressive species costs the province millions of dollars annually. The Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia (IPCBC) was recently formed to help coordinate a strategy for the management of invasive species. Based on the Invasive Plant Strategy, a plan developed by a diverse group representing all levels of government, agriculture, industry and community, the IPCBC hopes to bring all parties together in the fight against invasive species.

Link: The Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia the IPCBC website

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:40 PM

The Science of Gardening

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources , Plant Relationships , Plants, Food and Medicine

In a recent issue of the Christian Science Monitor, writer Jim Regan reviews the latest addition in the Accidental Scientist series from the Exploratorium, the website of the Museum of Science in San Francisco. Even if, like Mr. Regan, you are not a gardener, you will enjoy the friendly perspective in which the photos, videos and interactive displays are presented.

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Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:07 PM

Will the PhyloCode Replace Taxonomic Nomenclature?

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources

The Linnaean system of taxonomy, which classifies species by similarities of form and other traits, has served botanists for two and a half centuries. Molecular genetics now enable scientists to more accurately determine the descent of a species from its ancestors. A new nomenclature system, PhyloCode has been created to classify species based on their evolutionary history or phylogeny.

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Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:38 PM

Yahoo! Pick of the Day

Category(-ies): Botanical Art , Botanical Resources

Once a day, Yahoo! editors pick one web site out of millions on the web as noteworthy.

On June 10, they picked UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research's Botany Photo of the Day: Yahoo! Picks - June 10, 2005 - Botany Photo of the Day.

While Botany Photo of the Day is a venture with participants from staff and researchers (read more about Botany PotD), it also owes much credit to two people: Tim Bray, who seeded the idea in a technology lunch we had at the garden; and Dr. Quentin Cronk, the garden's director, who has fostered a garden that allows seeds of ideas to grow.

If you agree with Yahoo! and think we're doing some noteworthy activities at UBC Botanical Garden, please consider reading Dr. Cronk's letter on the importance of plants and the role of botanical gardens.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:50 AM